$70 Million Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Proposal Draws Reader Comment

“Another boondoggle for some medical
schools but made to order for private operators like for profit
cancer, dialysis, and laser eye specialty clinics that do one
procedure.  I can see each of the medical schools gifted with
one as they each were gifted with about 25 million dollars for stem
cell institute buildings; and CIRM and (Irv) Weissman's companies
like Stem Cells, Inc., getting a piece of the action as well.  Of
course the deans and chancellors on the CIRM steering committee will
vote for it. How can they not? It's money in their pockets.

“This has the fit and feel of, say,
old Latin American Laetrile clinics or offshore clinics offering
suspect surgeries or injections for cancers, Parkinson's disease, and
the like.  It makes no difference that they are set up in
California.  CIRM will pay for an unneeded infrastructure that
will be empty space and staff sitting on their hands 99% of the
time.  Or worse yet, CIRM will pay but the space will be used
for other things, other clinic procedures paid for by insurance.  

“Now (CIRM President Alan) Trounson and
CIRM want to get into the medical tourism business making California
a 'go-to place' for stem cell treatments.  They want to start
with bone marrow injections and transplants, procedures that cancer
centers do regularly.  All CIRM needs is a drug or treatment. 
It's not like there are tons of drugs out there and the only barrier
is the lack of clinical space and capacity.  The start up time
for any one drug is very long.

“NIH at various times has tried to
organize clinical trials groups with infrastructure, like quick
reaction forces, ready to gear up for a new trial at the drop of a
hat. They mainly did nothing but suck money, kept staff employed,
because there are generally few drugs ready for early human trials
and each treatment that is brought along requires a unique contract,
ethics reviews, and different facilities, equipment and staff than
planned for.  The latest incarnation are CTSAs or CTSIs,
clinical and translational science centers funded by the federal NIH
that most if not all California medical schools already have.

“The CIRM clinics are going to be
generic stem cell clinics advancing California tourism.  Come to
California, we will inject stem cells for any illness, in any part of
your body, never mind that cancer is different from heart disease is
different from bone disease is different from brain disease, no
matter.  Next step is for CIRM to form a travel agency with
discounted air and Ritz Carlton packages for patients and extended
family non-stop from China.  There is likely considerable
revenue to be generated here and Trounson, Weissman, and (Robert)
Klein (former CIRM chairman) should find a way to benefit. It sounds
so wonderful!!  The public will love it.  Now all they need
are some treatments.  Love the name: Alpha Clinics, they
wouldn't want to start with Beta test clinics when they can go big
from the get-go.  What an irresponsible waste.”    

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